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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Sherrey Meyer says we're never to old to write

I'm so happy to have Sherrey Meyer back at Choices for a return engagement. I hope you'll revisit her last guest post on June 24. Her words about writing to heal and the memoir writing process are always right on.Today she writes about writing into old age, something that I can definitely relate to. That's exactly what I'm doing and I plan to keep writing no matter how old I get. I think that's what keeps me vibrant and happy. Please welcome Sherrey back.

Too Old to Write? Proof the Answer is “NO!”

by Sherrey Meyer

Lately
I’ve been asked by friends and family what I'm doing with my time in
retirement. Since I left my position with a local law firm in 2006, I've spent
a lot of time with expensive surgeons who have corrected my eyesight and
repaired a lot of bones. I discount those months as paid medical leave (paid by
me and my retirement fund) and explain that I'm at last fulfilling a lifelong
dream of writing.

The
responses I have received are jarring, startling and some even painful:

·Aren't you too
old to be writing a book? (Excuse me?)

·At this stage
in your life, do you really want to deal with the burden of writing and then
publishing a book? (I really love it!)

·What if no one
wants to publish a book by a retired legal secretary? (I beg your pardon?)

·What do you
have to write about? (Stories – lots of stories.)

And
the list goes on.I try to smile and
make polite comments. However, I didn't realize there was an age limit on when
a person could write a book.

At
a workshop I attended last winter, one of the workshop coordinators took a
moment to announce a regular attendee was no longer with us. Bill Senstrom, MD,
aged 90, had passed away two weeks previously. Bill had attended his first
workshop in April 2009, had published a book since then, and was about to
finish his second at the time of his death. The February 2013 conference would
have been his eighth (conferences are held twice each year).

Let’s
do the math: In 2009, Bill
Senstrom attended his first conference. That was four years prior to his death
in 2013. Our friend Bill didn’t begin writing until he was 86, and he still
wrote two books and published one of them!

Bill was obviously not too old to be
a writer.

Another
example is that of Maris Morton, who won the prestigious CAL
Scribe Prize sponsored by Scribe
Publications in Australia. At the time, Morton was 72 and her book, A
Darker Music, was a debut novel, which
went on to become a bestseller. In that year's contest, the oldest participant
was 90 years of age with 22 entrants born in the 1920s and 64 in the 1930s.

When
asked about writers who worry that if they're not published by age 50 it will
never happen, Morton said:

"My advice would
be to stop worrying and keep writing, if you really love it. If you don’t,
forget it, and take up bridge, or something equally absorbing."

The
CAL Scribe Prize limits its contestants to those over 35 years of age intentionally
and enjoys sharing information on the range of ages drawn to its
competition. You
can read more here.

Take
a look at this list from Huffington
Post of seven famous authors who got a late start:

·Laura Ingalls
Wilder (first published in her mid-sixties)

·Raymond
Chandler (published first novel, The Big Sleep, at 51)

·Mary Wesley
(published children's books in her 50s, but her first novel wasn't published
until she was in her early 70s)

·Harriett Doerr
(published her first novel at 73)

·Richard Adams
(wrote and published Watership Down
in his early 50s)

·James A.
Michener (published first novel in early 40s)

·Frank McCourt
(also first published in mid-sixties)

Each
of these authors wrote into their later years, some into their 90s.

Having
looked at this range of ages among writers published decades ago and those
publishing today, it is clear that writing has no age specific delineation.
If you can write, then write! If you enjoy it, keep doing it every day or at
least several times a week. If you don't enjoy it, then as Maris Morton said
find something else to do with your time.

Passionate
about writing? Ignore the naysayers who question age. Now, go and write!

***

Thanks so much, Sherrey. My sentiments exactly. Writing keeps us young - at least young at heart. I still can't wait to read your memoir. I know it will be wonderful.

Sherrey's bio

A retired
legal secretary, Sherrey Meyer grew tired of drafting and revising pleadings
and legal documents. She had always dreamed of writing something else,
anything else! Once she retired she couldn’t stay away from the computer,
and so she began to write. Among her projects is a memoir of her “life
with mama,” an intriguing Southern tale of matriarchal power and control
displayed in verbal and emotional abuse. Sherrey is married and lives
with husband Bob in Milwaukie, OR.

12 comments:

Too old? Only if you think you are! Age is definitely in the mind. I spoke with a friend this morning who is having a great deal of trouble with arthritis in her hands, and it's keeping her from writing--and she's in her 40s!

Thanks for championing the over-50 crowd, Sherrey--we ALL have a great deal of life left!

Of all the things one might be too old to do (though I have a hard time thinking of any at the moment - must be a senior moment!), writing never makes the list. As I was writing my memoir, I urged my mom to write her stories too. At 87, with macular degeration, Mom wrote many memories I cherish. Never to old to write!

Sherrey, You are speaking for many of us older writers who are just seeing our lifelong dream come true. It would be sad for all that pent-up talent to go to waste because of some silly idea that we're too old. We have the experience, wisdom, and the understanding that comes with age and adds richness and insight to what we write. Here's to us older writers who refuse to let age defeat our dream to be published authors.

Thanks everyone for visiting Choices and commenting on Sherrey's inspirational post. There are so many wonderful aging writers out there to emulate. I agree, Sherrey, write on, write on, write on. It's never too late.

Sherrey and Shirley , I had missed this gem since I was away but I'm happy I found it. What a delightful reminder that age is merely a number and there's a lot of living and writing to do in "retirement." Love your work, Sherrey and add me to the line of people waiting to read your memoir. Thanks for featuring Sherrey, Madeline. Great post!

National Association of Memoir Writers

About Me

Madeline SharplesI’ve worked most of my professional life as a technical writer, grant writer, and proposal process manager and began writing poetry, essays, and creative non-fiction when my oldest son, Paul, was diagnosed as manic depressive. I continued writing as a way to heal since his death by suicide in 1999. My memoir, "Leaving the Hall Light On," first released on Mother's Day 2011 in hard cover, is about living with my son's bipolar disorder and surviving his suicide. My publisher, Dream of Things, is launching a paperback edition in July 2012 and an eBook in August 2012. I also co-edited Volumes 1 and 2 of "The Great American Poetry Show," a poetry anthology, and wrote the poems for two books of photography, "The Emerging Goddess" and "Intimacy." Besides having many poems published in print and online magazines, I write regularly for several websites: Naturally Savvy, PsychAlive, Open to Hope,and Journeys Through Grief and occasionally for The Huffington Post. I maintain two blogs: Choices and at Red Room.